Cornered

Claire cousin, Macy's house was quite big and old or at least, bigger and older than Alicia's home. The house was out of town, practically in the middle of nowhere, but Alicia could see why one would live here. The stars, the sweet smell of soil and the old, tall trees that rose to the slowly darkening sky gave the atmosphere a serene, peaceful vibe, and never mind the fact that it was the perfect place for a wild, robust party, what with the isolated location.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Alicia asked glancing at the sight around her.
"It's the right place alright." Obviously Lucian had been here before, but Alicia was not sure if it had been because of the fact that he was dating Claire, whose Aunt's house it was, or because he might have dated Macy herself.

But indeed, it was the right place and though there was a lot of parking space, there were cars everywhere and they struggled to get a spot not too far away from the rest of the vehicles.
"Didn't you say this was a small event?"

Rocky looked at her. "This is a small event."

So apparently Macy hosted the massive parties then? Time to drop another bomb.

"Hey, Rocky," she said as they made their way to the door, the grass hissing below the soles of their feet.
"Mmmn?"

"You know how I agreed to come here to this," she said as she waved her hand around indicating the party.

"Yeah?" He urged, slightly uninterested.

"Don't get mad, but I didn't just come because you asked me."

Rocky smiled.

"Ahh, Benji boy, right?"

"No," she said in mild repulsion and his smile froze on his face. "Part of the prophecy states that I am to marry within the following year." His smile fell.

"What does that mean Alicia?"

"It means that, I have to marry or at least date someone by the end of the month or else I'll be stripped of the title of Queen. I'll be banished."

He stopped and looked at her.

"So you came to this party because you need a boyfriend to fulfill some prophecy?" He asked, his face passive though his eyes burned with frustration and even, disappointment. Alicia nodded.

"Fine. Fine," he said as he walked to the door. ", just no more Alfairia talk today, okay? I don't even know if this thing exists."

"It does," she said but he didn't hear her because he had opened the door and the loud blasting music ate her words, as the ocean swallows a raindrop and declares it its own. "It does." She repeated to herself, her big brown eyes staring at his body, receding towards his loud, robust gang of friends while girls cluttered towards him or stared enviously at him and even at her.

"Hey! If it isn't Rocky's pretty little sister." Said a jock, Chase, she thought he was called; one of Lucian's football friends.

Alicia had figured that it was better to get a drink or even do something other than wait by the door for this night to end. So she walked straight past the beer keg and into the kitchen where she could hopeful get a bottle of water in peace, but alas, jocks everywhere.

"We're twins." She replied, quietly.

"Hey! She talks!," Chase boomed to his friends who also yelled 'heyyyyyy' and bumped fists for some reason.

" And why is a pretty thing like you always so quiet nowadays?" Alicia could not believe she was, unwillingly, part of this conversation. But hey, he asked for it.
"Uh, the same reason a muscle head like you is always so loud nowadays." She shrugged.
Chase's friends 'ooooohhed' and laughed while he placed his hand on his heart in mock pain but then he, too, grinned and (wait for it) bumped fists with his rowdy pack of friends.
"So feisty; I like," Alicia was really sick of this conversation now and looked for a way out of the kitchen and past the group of boys who had sort of cornered her. "So why don't you ever come partying with us and your big bro anymore?Scared?"
Rocky walked in hand-in-hand with some pretty girl Alicia also vaguely recognized from Biology AP class and his friends, specifically Chase quickly gave her a little more breathing space in honor of some guy code (thank goodness).
"Don't mess with the sis, bros." Rocky said lamely as he got two glasses, placed them on the counter and poured vodka into them. Alicia could tell he was already tipsy and was about to call him out on it but he grinned, a smile that didn't reach his eyes and said,
"Also, don't mess with the bros, sis. Chase, over there, has a girlfriend. Besides, he could never be king material." The guys laughed and Claire, the girl Alicia identified as Rocky's girlfriend, giggled.

Alicia looked at Lucian drily.

"Hey, hey. No worries. I don't think Blair would mind us just talking, do you?" Chase said, as he tilted his head back, gesturing to a pretty girl, - one of the queen bees from school - that could be seen from the kitchen, who was heatedly grinding against a guy that was definitely not Chase.

"Nope."

"Nah."

"Totally not." His friends said in agreement.

"Exactly." He concluded proudly.

Alicia sighed and made her way out of the brightly lit kitchen, a bottle of water in hand. Look. Chase was attractive, hands down. Football had done him well and it didn't hurt that the boy simply had good genes with those hazel eyes and brown fluffy hair. But Alicia wasn't looking for someone to look at and admire only. She wanted someone who wouldn't faint or laugh when she told him that she was the monarch in a distant, hidden kingdom, someone who had the emotional maturity to handle anything crazy and magical like that. So far, Chase and any guy she had met and dated lacked such.

Yeah at the rate everything was going, she was going to be chucked out of Alfairia, wasn't she?

~~~~

Party vibes. Maybe we'll find out just who saw her disappear, no?
Thanks for reading.